Keeping Teens Alive in the BackCountry

Eric Levy has brought the first Avalanche Safety Course for Teens to Colorado. He presented an introduction to the course at Nederland High School students Friday. A firefighter for the past 5 years with the Forest Service’s Roosevelt Hot Shots, Eric is also the Assistant Ski Patrol Director for Eldora Mountain Resort during the winter months. He has done ski patrol work for seven years, including back-country rescue, and teaches Avalanche courses at Eldora.

During the introduction, the students were shown a film, Warren Miller-style, and all chatter stopped. Most of these students identified themselves as skiers or snowboarders, all live near avalanche terrain. The film showed strong extreme-sport enthusiasts, snowboarders and skiers being swept away in a wall of snow that sets like cement when it stops. Beautiful, glowing athletes described the overwhelming power of an avalanche and the sadness of losing friends …

Most powerful was the news footage of seven snowboarders swept away in a Utah avalanche. The death of these lively teens disturbed Craig Gordon of Utah. Craig is an expert on avalanches and does avalanche forecasting. In response to the deaths he put together an Avalanche course specifically for teens. The course reached 50,000 teens in Utah. Eric Levy is excited about bringing this course to Colorado, and hopes that it can reach as many teens here.

One of the students present, Brittany, is taking the avalanche class and when asked what to do when considering going into the back-country, she said, “take the class and call the hot-line”. The Avalanche Hot-line gives the avalanche danger for the day.

Eric had the teens’ attention when he talked about “staying alive in avalanche terrain”. “You never want to be alone…you can’t dig yourself out”. He also illustrated the dangers of moving together across avalanche terrain . “If everyone gets swept away, no one is left to dig.”

He touched on keys to assessing that a terrain is dangerous, and reminded everyone that 90% of avalanches are created by people (90% of avalanche fatalities are triggered by the victim or a member of the victims party). When people are educated, back-country skiing can be safe.

The most important factor, once the search for avalanche survivors begins, is time. After fifteen minutes survival rates plummet. Eric explained that there were four main tools for avalanche rescue; beacons for gaining a general idea of the location of the survivor, probes for finding the person under the snow, a shovel for digging them out, and knowing how to use them as well as avoid having to use them. Eldora Mountain Resort plans to create a training area for practicing avalanche rescues.

After the film, Eric introduced Scott Chandler as the man Eldora sends into the back-country when someone is hurt. He has been with Eldora Ski Patrol for six years and a paramedic for seven. Scott participated in the recovery of a teenage snow boarder’s body in 1992 and strongly believes in the importance of avalanche safety. The husband and father of two small boys, three and seven months, has personally covered the costs of avalanche classes for young people. He now has started the non-profit Alpine Education Foundation. The foundation has been giving scholarships for teens to take avalanche classes. Their new website is in-progress…it contains contact information for those interested in applying for a scholarship, or to make a donation. Scott is excited about the recent filming of Eldora rescue dogs Tasha and Pancho during a training exercise. The trailer will be shown on the Alpine Education Foundation web site and was produced in conjunction with Warren Miller. He is an ‘avid supporter and friend of the back-country’, and likes the exposure the film will give to avalanche safety.

Scott also reiterated what Eric had told the students, which is that the new technology of snow mobiles has led to new dangers with snow-mobiles going higher than others traveling on snow shoes, skis, or snowboards, and setting off avalanches onto those traveling below them.

“Ignorance is Bliss, said Jennifer Morris, of Eldora's Ski Patrol. Morris moved to Colorado from Boston, Mass. When she was 21 she was dropping off the backside of A- Basin, and Loveland Pass without a beacon or any avalanche knowledge, like many do. However, after taking Avalanche classes, she realized she had been really lucky. She said, ”Take the class, I think its really important to know what you’re doing, otherwise, you're putting yourself and others in danger; your friends, other back-country skiers, and the rescuers as well."